The ONOC Sport Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) reconvenes in Nadi, Fiji, this week for their fourth workshop to finalise two specialised Sport Management qualifications tailored to address the unique requirements of the region.
The IAC, a coalition of esteemed regional subject matter experts and administrators, is committed to pioneering a bespoke, industry-driven full qualification program.
This initiative is a project between ONOC’s Oceania Sports Education Programme (OSEP) and The Pacific Community’s (SPC) Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP).
EQAP’s Qualifications Team Leader, Rajendra Prasad, highlighted the evolving nature of the project.
“We started with the intention of writing one qualification and by the time we completed the third workshop, we had sufficient material which could be split into two distinct qualifications, a decision unanimously endorsed during the August Workshop.”
Prasad further explained the rationale behind the decision, emphasising the imperative of providing diverse pathways for individuals involved in the sports industry.
“We recognise the considerable number of talented professionals presently contributing to the sector without the necessary formal accreditation. Considering the diverse aspirations within this landscape, we have crafted a diploma at either level five or six, in addition to a highly anticipated certificate IV, to ensure an accessible and structured educational journey.”
A pivotal recommendation from an external evaluation in 2020 underscored the urgent need for the accreditation of OSEP courses within the Pacific Qualifications Framework (PQF), the standard regional framework overseen by the SPC’s EQAP.
Since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ONOC and SPC in 2021 to foster sport qualifications and micro-qualifications, the ONOC IAC has successfully developed six micro-qualifications so far of which three has been approved.
The sport qualification covers a variety of units including Governance, Planning, Finance, Human Resources, Events Management, Media, Marketing, Sponsorship, Sport for Development, and Safeguarding to address the needs of the sports industry in Oceania.
The ONOC Sport IAC Workshop 4 concludes on 26 October with the final draft of two Sport Management qualifications.
With a commitment to finalising the draft qualifications by the conclusion of this week, the IAC will present the comprehensive framework to regional stakeholders for endorsement in the next part of the process.
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About ONOC
Established in 1981, the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) is one of five Continental Associations. It looks after the interests of 17 member nations in the Oceania Region, including Australia and New Zealand as well as seven associate members.
ONOC has an office in Guam where Secretary General Mr. Ricardo Blas is based and the Secretariat in Suva, Fiji, where the Office of the President Dr Robin Mitchell is located.
All services and-programmes are based on the ONOC Strategic Plan for 2018-2021, and its 4 Core Functions of (1) Building and Strengthening NOCs Capacity (2) Cultivating Strategic Partnerships (3) Contributing towards Sporting Excellence and (4) Leading by Example.
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